BREAKING: Clayton doubles early voter turnout overnight

Data from the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office released Tuesday shows Clayton County voters doubled their early-voting efforts between Sunday and Monday.

As of the close of polls Monday, 6% of Clayton County voters have cast early or advance ballots. On Sunday, 2% had voted, while another 4% had voted by Monday.

Total turnout as of press time was 10,843 of the 179,455 eligible voters for this U.S. Senate runoff.

Clayton County ranks eight of Georgia’s 156 counties in terms of early voter turnout.

Breakdown

Absentee/Advance Ballots

Monday was the last day to request paper absentee/advance ballots, so those numbers are likely to increase when today’s numbers are announced Wednesday.

As of Tuesday, 4,020 paper absentee/advance ballots had been requested and 4,020 had been issued.

921 paper ballots had been returned as of Tuesday, with 912 of them accepted. (You can check whether your paper ballot was accepted or rejected on your Georgia My Voter Page.) That’s an acceptance rate of 99.02%. Nine ballots were rejected. 71 ballots were spoiled or cancelled. That left 3,028 paper ballots outstanding as of Tuesday.

Remember to submit your paper ballot in person at one of the three secure dropbox locations, by fax, or as an e-mail attachment. Do not count on the U.S. Mail to deliver your paper ballot by December 6, which is Election Day.

In-Person Turnout

As of Tuesday, 9,929 people had cast their vote in person at one of six early-voting locations in Clayton County. On Tuesday, 6,536 turned out to vote, up from 3,393 on Sunday.

Wait Times

Wait times varied, with voters telling The Clayton Crescent they had gotten in and out in as little as eight minutes early Monday at Forest Park, or as long as three hours in Jonesboro. You can check the Clayton County Elections and Registration webpage for wait times and plan where to go accordingly. During early voting, you can vote at any of the locations.

Demographics

Here’s a snapshot of who has turned out to vote early as of Tuesday:

Race/Ethnicity

Clayton County’s early-voter turnout reflects the county’s primarily African-American population. 8,463 people who are Black and not of Hispanic origin have cast ballots. The next-largest group is Unknown, which clocked in at 1,067 votes. Whites not of Hispanic origin accounted for 970 ballots cast so far. Hispanics have cast 171 early votes. Asians or Pacific Islanders have cast 152 votes. American Indians (Georgia’s designation for Native Americans) and Native Alaskans have cast 20 votes.

Gender

Women lead the way with 6,622 turning out to vote early. 4,205 men also have cast early ballots as of Tuesday. 16 people listed as “Other” also have cast their votes.

Age Group

As usual, seniors lead the way in early voter turnout. Voters 65-70 are closely followed by those 60 to 65, 55 to 60, 70 to 75, and 50 to 55, in that order. (We notice that some of the age bands overlap but are reporting what is on the Secretary of State’s graph as of press time.)

The next largest turnout groups are those 75 to 80 and 45 to 50.

Where are 18 to 24 year olds during early voting? Right behind those who are 40 to 45, slightly ahead of voters 80 to 85.

Voters between 35 to 40, 30 to 34, and 25 and 29 are next in early-voting representation, followed by voters who are 85 to 90 and 90 to 95.

Early voting continues today (Tuesday, Nov. 29) through Friday, December 2. After that, you will need to wait until Election Day, which is Tuesday, Dec. 6. Be sure to check your My Voter Page to find out where your precinct is so you can cast your ballot.

Where can I vote early?

Six early voting locations are open. You can cast your ballot at any of these polling places:

Where are the dropboxes?

Please note that only three locations will have secure ballot dropboxes inside during polling hours:

• JONESBORO
  Elections and Registration Office
  Historic Courthouse
  121 S. McDonough St.
• REX
  Carl Rhodenizer Rec Center
  3499 Rex Road
• HAMPTON
  South Clayton Rec Center
  1837 McDonough Road

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